Jason Lewis

Mr. Speaker, on December 21, 2018 I was unable to be present on the floor for recorded votes. As a proud father, I was attending my eldest daughter's college graduation in Minnesota.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 6964) to reauthorize and improve the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, and for other purposes, with the Senate amendment thereto, and concur in the Senate amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight a longstanding issue facing the Prairie Island Indian Community, a tribe in my district. The Prairie Island Indian Community has long lived in the lower half of Minnesota and along the banks of the Mississippi River, and currently occupies a Reservation that is located on an island along the Mississippi River in Goodhue County, Minnesota.

In 1938, less than three miles downstream from the Prairie Island Reservation, the Army Corps of Engineers placed Lock and Dam No. 3 on the Upper Mississippi River. The operation of Lock and Dam No. 3 regularly overflows and floods portions of the Prairie Island Reservation, much of which lies within the Mississippi River 100-year flood plain. Moreover, concerns have been raised that the flooding of a significant portion of Prairie Island Reservation land may have occurred without express Congressional authorization.

In 1973, The Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant went into operation on the same island about 600 yards from the Prairie Island Reservation. The Plant is now home to over forty dry casks of spent nuclear fuel, in close proximity to tribal homes, churches, schools, the Tribe's Community Center, and tribal businesses. What's more, additional casks of spent nuclear fuel are expected to be added in the coming years.

Complicating matters further, there is only one reliable road leading on and off the island shared by the Prairie Island Reservation and the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant. This road is often blocked by railroad traffic carrying a variety of freight.

The operation of Lock and Dam No. 3, in combination with the close proximity of the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant and spent nuclear fuel to the Prairie Island Reservation, is rightfully a concern of the Community.

In order to protect the Tribe and its members and to support the Tribe's long-term health and self-sufficiency, I believe that it is necessary to work towards identifying additional reservation land for the Tribe that is located at a safe distance from Lock and Dam No. 3 and the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant.

I call upon the next Congress to work with the Community to address these issues to ensure a safe and secure future for the Community and its members.